Tofu :)

Since when I can remember, I'd always wanted a dog. Big, handsome, strong, dependable and most of all, a dog that could scare the wits out of people. It's not to say I have ever taken pride in terrorisng fellow humans, (with my big dog or small) but it's good for a few laughs when you see full grown adults do the weird I-think-the-dog's-gonna-kill-me dance. Also, owning a jumbo sized dog gives you some sort of a status with everyone. They take you a tad more seriously when you threaten to 'set the dog on them' (albeit in jest) as against the smirk you'd get when you try to do the same with a miniature dachshund.
Being brought up on a steady diet of Famous Fives' while growing up, I was in love with the big adorable Timothy (the loyal mongrel). I always fantasized about having one of my own someday.
Every stray pup my sister and me managed to bring home was christened 'Timothy' on arrival, but blame it on the doggies' unfortunate lineage and people's bias only toward pedigree dogs, our little Timmys' would end up being sent away to the animal shelters.
Years of cribbing and crying about wanting a pet resulted in our parents finally relenting. They brought home a dachshund puppy and though a small part of me hoped he'd grow into something that didn't resemble a rodent, I grew to love him the way he was. A cute little piglet.
'Happy' stayed with us for 6 and a half wonderful years and one of the sadest days of my life, was when he died. Months went by and the hurt of losing him stung like nothing else. We tried adopting again, by being surrogate mothers to 2-3 week old puppies, but I guess we must've done a bad job cause they fell ill and the poor dearies had to be sent back to the pet shelters. Then finally, one November evening...Trophy came into our lives.
It was Diwali and the whole family was in a joyous mood. We didn't invite a large gathering that year, so it was just us close family and a few friends . We were having a good time after the Lakshmi pooja, and a friend and me proceeded to the balcony to watch the fireworks. Ten minutes into the artificial star gazing, I happened to glance toward the car park. That's when I saw him...
All of 4 weeks perhaps, pudgy, he resembled a ball of black fur. He sat amidst crackers that went off with alarming noise and light. He just sat huddled and sat still. I almost didn't see him (what with the racket) but he'd chosen the same moment to move a bit, when I was looking in his direction. The movement caught my eye. I saw him from a distance and without so much of a cursory warning to mom or dad, I ran out of the house and bounded down the stairs in filmy style of a heroine meeting her love after years.
I must've looked a sight running like a mad woman, but nothing mattered right then. I got to where the pup was and saw the little fellow shivering in the wintery chill. If my heart had melted on seeing him from afar, it dissolved completely when I looked at his puppy dog face. I picked him up and took him straight home.
Of course, it wasn't easy convincing my parents and worse still, my eldest sister. But Amuee (my second sister) and me won the battle finally. We got to keep Trophy (aka Tofu) and it was the best thing that had happened to me since Happy's untimely departure.
In a lot of ways, Tofu resembles Happy. Mom's of the opinion that he might be the latter himself, incarnate. Tofu's the exact same combo of black and brown too, has the same hazel brown eyes, and gives me the same expression of 'what do you take me for?’ when I try and trick him off his dog treats. He also has the same sleeping place and took to my dad the way Happy had done when he’d first come.
Tofu’s brought our family a lot of luck, happiness and love. And he hasn’t let me down either. He’s big, handsome, strong, dependable and most of all a dog that scares the wits out of people… ;)